Brookdale beats No. 1 Anne Arundel behind Papaianni

Brookdale beats No. 1 Anne Arundel behind Papaianni


SEAN BRADY  Above, Brookdale’s Christine Serila beats the throw to the plate during the Jersey Blues’ win over Anne Arundel on Sunday in Lincroft. At left, Christine Lewis makes the scoop at first base to register a putout.SEAN BRADY Above, Brookdale’s Christine Serila beats the throw to the plate during the Jersey Blues’ win over Anne Arundel on Sunday in Lincroft. At left, Christine Lewis makes the scoop at first base to register a putout.

The No. 1 and No. 3 softball teams in the country squared off in Middletown on Sunday.

Bo Scannapieco’s Brookdale Community College (BCC) squad, ranked third, hosted No. 1-ranked Anne Arundel, Md., in what could prove to be a preview of the national championship.

The Jersey Blues rode Elyse Papaianni’s four-hitter to a 2-0 win over the defending national champions. Papaianni fanned 10 and walked no one as she improved to 16-2.

Cherise Maltais scored the first run of the game when she doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly in the fourth. The Jersey Blues picked up an unearned run in sixth, scored by Amanda Meatto, of Old Bridge.


Brookdale is now 34-7 on the season, while Anne Arundel slipped to 22-6.

Before Brookdale can think about delivering a message to Anne Arundel and the national championship tournament, the Jersey Blues first have to defend their Region XIX championship.

The tournament begins this weekend with the eight-time defending champion Jersey Blues all but assured of a first-round bye (BCC would have to lose two region games this week to fall out of the bye position).

The Region Final Four is May 7-9 at Gloucester in Carney’s Point. The winner goes on to the Division III fastpitch national championships in Illinois (May 20-22).

Since the hoopla and publicity of Scannapieco’s 500th career win, the Jersey Blues have gotten down to doing what they do best, win games. They have won the Garden State Athletic Conference title and positioned themselves well for the defense of their region title. The Blues have received great starting-pitching defense all year from Papaianni, Maltais and Meatto.

Offensively, Brookdale has been spreading the wealth around. Leah Minnick, Maltais, Meatto, Christine Lewis, Nicole Carrol, Deidre Trujilio, Brianne Regan, Jessica Cueman and Heather Mayers have all been ranked nationally in one offensive category or another.

Brookdale, located in the Lincroft section of Middletown, plays its last scheduled home game of the season tomorrow against the US Army Prep School at 3:30 p.m.

— Tim Morris